Zune unboxing (with video!)
By Ryan Block 
posted Nov 13th 2006 4:31PM
posted Nov 13th 2006 4:31PM
- Load the startup software.
- When prompted by the software, connect and charge Zune. Full charge can take up to 3 hours.
- Sync your music, video, and pictures.
thank god we dont yet have smell-o-vision.
the fact that the link is an affiliate link is pretty annoying.
Hey Carbon how much did MS pay you to say that? Go ahead be a sucker & buy that MS sh@# brick. lamo
iPod styling still looks way better, sorry. There are indeed other players that get less press that look more innovative than the iPod. But the Zune is not even close to them!
I tried to install the zune software from the CD rom enclosed in the package. It seemed to install ok, but I still wasn't able to use my new Zune because the "marketplace was unavailable." for several days. I surmised that his was a problem with my own equipment and therefore, perhaps foolishly, decided to uninstall and reinstall the Zune software. Now I an unable to install the Zune software at all because "Windows or Zune Software needs an update. The O.S. is currently unsupported by Zune.'" All this after Windows updater is up=to=date. I'm not sure where to go from here. Thank goodness my Creative Zen Vision M is still hangin in there. I may be using the Zen for a lot longer than I had expected.
...Wake me up with the true video iPod is out.
Not bad. But I will be interested in any statistics that show how many Zunes sold on release day v. iPods.
I like the brown & like the integration of the "click wheel" in the grey trim.
If it were thinner & had a bigger hard drive I'd be more interested.
I had a brown "zune" myself this morning. :)
good thing for bathroom fans.
lol the strip was to pull to pick up the zune.
Hmm, creative packaging......kinda looks like, nah, don't want fan boys to flame.
zune puts the tingle in my dingle
you might want to see a doctor.
There is no tingle in dingle!!!!!!!
NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!
My mind has been blown, and is pouring out of my ears!
You sir, should be ashamed of yourself!
Messing with peoples minds like that!
I only wish it was Plays For Sure compatible. I may have bought a Zune instead of an HD-DVD player for my 360.
What's funny is that even preloaded artists seem to be friends of the unzune initiative on myspace... at least two I recall check this out! ;-)
http://www.myspace.com/unzune
Thanks for the pics/vid. You couldn't find an intern or a random Engadget fan to hold the camera for you? I'll do it for $50 a week and any free gadgets you don't want!
LOL, sooner or later someone was going to ask why can't the worlds most popular gadget blog get a fuckin' cameraman! Look it's this easy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztMKS_q9CK4
i love video posts, but come on... it kills me to watch this poor guy struggle through the insides, with one hand holding the camera.
I'm not sure why anyone cares about this product. It is nothing revolutionary - The design is terrible & so is the form factor. Microsoft has found themselves a new way to throw money away!
you're quite good at working with one hand, either that or the packaging was designed for one-handed people.
Zune's new target market is the Def Leopard
I really don't understand the massive push for the Zune to be thinner. Personally speaking... I don't care. It's either on my desk or in my backpack.
Video iPod? Nah, no thanks. Another excuse for Quicktime to hijack my extensions.
I'll give the Zune a shot. In brown, to further annoy everyone.
Lol! Thats the right attitude!
I like the black one with the blue double-shot effect.
But I'll wait till Christmas so they can get all the bugs out.
Go Martin!!!!!!!!!
ha ha true gadget pron... one handed.
I bet more 5.5g ipods are sold than zunes on launch day...
Oh I love the zune. I can't wait to buy one.
I had a brand new ipod 30gb black with johnny depp on the front but sold it to get one of these.
Yeah, I hope this thing dies, and quick. I was almost willing to accept this thing until I heard about Zune points. And Zune points can only be bought in $5.00 increments. To make it worse, each song is 79 Zune points, so you will always have extra points left over that you can not use.
I don't really feel like letting Microsoft hold onto my money until I buy another song, so take a hike Zune.
WELL DONT U HAVE POINTS (MONEY) LEFT OVER WHEN U BUY A SONG FROM ITUNES
waste of cardboard ink and plastic. the should just sell them in the brown boxes, well at least the brown one cause it looks like shit.
zune = ipod knockoff
zune headphones - ipod headphone knockoff
zune usb = ipod usb knockoff
zune software = itunes knockoff
COME ONE MS MAKE SOMETHING OF YOUR OWN DESIGN
"zune headphones - ipod headphone knockoff"
"zune usb = ipod usb knockoff"
Er... that's like saying the design for a yogurt container is copying your fish tank.
Matt, got to calm down just a bit there. True, when I saw the headphones I did think ol' skool iPod there, but come on, a USB cable?! Can't really do much with one of them.
Zune ent an iPod knockoff, because the knockoffs look somewhat decent. And relating to software, well it would have had to follow the iTunes route, seeing as iTunes ... sells music.
Heck, I know I dont think much of MS, but even though I own a Mac and an iPod, I have got to say, comparing two USB cables takes things a tad too far.
ipod headphones suck and so does iTunes.
ipod headphones are magnetic? since when!?!
zune headphones - ipod headphone knockoff
>>>They don't look anything like Apple earphones. What do you want, giant studio headphones instead?
zune usb = ipod usb knockoff
>>> Again, there's only so many ways to make a sync cable, and this one isn't white or anything.
zune software = itunes knockof
>>> You probably haven't even seen the Zune desktop software, just a couple of pictures, in which case most media players look alike to some degree. As for the Zune player software, it's no more similar than any other list-based mp3 software (read: ANY modern mp3 player)
Does anyone know how many colors the Zune screen supports? is it 65,000 colors like the Ipod? or 16.7 million color like the Archos series?
"Video iPod? Nah, no thanks. Another excuse for Quicktime to hijack my extensions."
nice
i feel the same way ive had a 30gb ipod video b4 and had a mini and ive had a rio and a sony walkman nwa100 it will be nice to see what M$ can do. i like the big screen and the fack that its not a F**KING IPOD!!!!!!!
The Zune is hot. Some of the features are not. Most notably, you can't use Zune as a portable hard drive. I would be all over this thing (like those two Japanese girls in the picture in the Zune software installer) if it wasn't for that.
My iPod 3rd gen still works...slightly...so I guess I'll wait for Zune Gen 2.
Let me set the record straight for a few of you misguided apple fanboys.
Apple has a wonderful product. Their 5G ipod is the best DAP they have ever designed. Its interface and ease of use is very simple. Its design is innovative.
With that said, I want to point out that the criticisms that the Zune is getting is unfair. So what its bigger. Its about the same size that the old ipods were. Whats the big deal? The screen was designed to be bigger than the ipod's, thus the unit will be bigger. Its simple mathematics. Not only that, but the Zune has features such as an FM radio and wifi. Frankly, I'm impressed at how they were able to keep the player at such a manageable size (being that its not too much bigger than the ipod) and still add all of those cool features.
I agree that it was poor taste for Microsoft to abandon their own DRM. That was stupid. They could have included support for it. THis is something that's possible to add later, but it should have come standard. And as far as critisms go for propietary software, I'm sure Apple offers much more freedoms :)
After looking at other mp3 players such as the Meizu, I totally agree that Microsoft could have done better in overall design and looks. But, the zune is not an ugly player by far. I have seen a lot worse. The ipod's design is getting dated, and next to the Zune, looks prehistoric.
I also agree that the zune falls short on features that are found in other players such as the Zen Vision: M. No recording features, no divx and other file format support, Not even a stand alone charger in the box (Obviously a practice ripped from Apple to save on costs). But, let me again call your attention to ipod's very limited support.
As far as content goes, I hope you guys don't think Microsfoft is going to get zilch from its deal with Universal. The content will be there. Trust me.
And Microsoft's stupid RIAA- friendly 3x3 rule? I don't even see a wifi - muic sharing option on the ipod.
The fact is, Microsoft has a formidale player to offer good competition to the ipod. Not only that, but what sets this player apart from the rest is that it has MICROSOFT behind it. I'm sure they have a war chest that is much greater than Apple's. Remember how Microsoft dethroned PALM with its POCKETPC platform? If Apple is not careful it could find itself chilling with the makers of the palm pilot.
Thank you to someone for FINALLY presenting a well structured, intelligent and informative unbiased view. It is with a heavy heart, however, that I tell you to look for your comment to be lowest ranked as a result.
I disagree. The 5.5 gen. iPod looks better than the 1st gen. Zune. And Zune's software looks like a pain to install with too much Big Brother info required. There are too many restrictions on your wifi usage. Sharing is useless if you can't truly share the music. DRM is DRM, whether it's Apple or MSFT, so going from one to another is really no better. It's also very unpopular. It's too early to tell if the Zune will beat the iPod. I think the 2nd or 3rd generation maybe. Get the software bugs worked out, loosen up on DRM, and find a sleeker design. Then we'll talk. Otherwise you can't beat the iPod THIS time.
I still don't understand why we need pictures AND a video of somebody opening a package. It's not very exciting and I'm perfectly capable of opening a package myself without prior video instruction. Since when is opening a package gadget news? This is retarded.
Mike D, they probably do this for those who want the product but don't have it, and need a fix. LOL!
Haha, that is funny. I have agree on that. the video is rather pointless. Although I have gotten packages in the mail before and wasn't sure how to open it, or take the product out of the box. (that was sarcasm for those of you who didn't get that, I'd rather not get usless replys :))
I like to root for the underdog, so I'd really like to see the Zune turn out to be good. Wow it feels weird calling Microsoft the underdog...
U-G-L-Y!!! Emporer's new clothes anyone?
i dont think you understand what "unbiased" means. Sure, he was composed, but bias is intrinsically linked with opinion, and he's definitely spouting opinion.
anyway, since when was an unboxing zune video's comments section in desperate need of an unbiased view? shouldn't we talk about, i dont know, the article's subject?
What he wrote is really just an apology and excuse piece about the Zune. If there are legitimate complaints, there's no reason to apologize for them or make excuses. it's pointless. that may be why he can expect a low rating for his comment.
Got news for ya. Apple is not working on a "true video iPod." This is a self-propagating myth on the 'net. Zune's "beaming" feature is slow, slow. It is not an appropriate selling point. There is and will be no "iPod killer." The only thing that will "kill" the iPod would be a highly unlikely series of missteps by Apple, or the eventual, inevitable improvement and change in portable media player tech that will render the current meme obsolete. Apple IS working on that, but don't hold your breath. :-)
Get a freaking friend and have them shoot the video while you're opening things!!! There's no better way to look like an amature than holding a came in one hand while you "demo" with the other.
Kevin, you are not the only one that doesn't understand the unboxing crap. I could care less what the box looks like and how everything is laid out. Just show me the goods and let me know how it works.
haha, the zune comes with a sticker.
Wait a minute. Am I the only one who, when something arrives via post, refuses to blindly accept that what can be seen on top of the foam is everything there is?
C'mon! I would have spent *at least* another 90 seconds dumping all those shavings out, looking in the box, and then rifling through the shavings - just to be sure. I mean, what if the guy who filled the box was eating a sandwich while on the phone with his girlfriend...and his phone fell in? Or better yet, some of his sandwich?
Shame on you Engadget; where's the investigative reporting??
heh, i like the packaging...
another site posted a new toshiba player that might be the nano version of zune:
http://sixpop.com/images/images/27260201.jpg
I'm not impressed. I'll wait till the 2nd or 3rd gen before I buy. Yawn.. Just like I am not impressed with the Xbox 360. Yawn!! The PS3 is going to rule! Maybe when MS can come up with an original idea.. Not...lol
You know most of you guys would not be flaming the zune if it was not made by Microsoft. If apple made the same product with the same shape, same design, same color, same wifi and put ipod on it you would be loving it. I cant stand apple fanboy sometime.
I can honestly say that, as much as I'm an Apple "fanboy", I would be horrified if they released this today. Look at the 1G iPod. By today's standards, a clunker. Yet it still *looks* nicer than a Zune.
I love the design of plenty non-Apple products. SlimDevice's SqueezeBox3 (and new Transporter) is one example. The Zune design, however, is mediocre at best. I haven't seen the UI yet, so I limit my comments to the device itself.
Ugh. So um yeah they basically failed on the packaging. Apple will always pwn them on that front.
Please research and review the definition and etymology of the word "sarcasm" and get back to me.
Sorry it wasn't obvious enough. I'll dumb it down next time.
why don't you guys get someone else to hold the camera??? how awkward.
Nice and simple. I read that the first device will be sold in more than 30,000 stores compared to iPods 10,000 stores. It will be interesting to see what happens in this extended gadget battle. AAARRREEE YYYOOOUUU RRREEEAAADDDYYY TTTOOO RRRUUUMMMBBBLLLEEE?
Microsoft Rules the World!!!Hahahahahahaha!!!!!
Wow. I'm stunned. When I was watching the Video, I couldn't help but notice the similarities between the iPod packaging and the Zune packaging. The inclusion of the bumper sticker sealed the deal for me. How long has Apple been including bumper stickers in all of its hardware boxes? Next we'll see "Vistas" bumper stickers, reading "I'd like to let you merge but I'm on the phone to India troubleshooting my crap."
Seriously Microsoft, get your own ideas.
6G iPod released before Christmas will blow the Zune out of its shallow pool of water.
6TH gen ipod before christmas.....right,
"Go enjoy this moment, for tomorrow many of you will have one of your own."
Not if I'm lucky!
For the record, i enjoy watching these unboxings and keep them coming!
+ the zune is looking pretty good for their first mp3 player, i like the way they have taken some of the good qualities from the ipod and added more on(wireless sharing, radio) to make something so much better and annoy apple fanboys that much more(jesus guys, grow up "yea but they copied the usb cable" wtf?).
Yeah, i own an ipod, 2 actually, and i'm sick of them breaking all the f'ing time, i don't think i know many people that have had an ipod that hasn't broken tbh. I'm hoping this will have better build quality, too bad it's coming to the UK in like a year or something for some stupid reason.
Oh yea, how can people complain about unboxings, you know how simple it is to ignore them? You scroll that wheel down just a bit more when checking the articles.
With Zune, Microsoft has tapped into a vein of seemingly limitless energy. They finally discovered a way to turn all those years of Mac/iPod envy into a revenue stream! Ballmer should get an award or something, this is Lex Luther stuff.
it seems to me that all the pics and vids online are of the brown zune. i find that rather amusing since that was the color that microsoft got the most flack for (recall "shit brown").
i dont buy it for a second. nice try though. thanks for playing.
..i do like your use of "etymology" but i'm not sure how knowing the origin of the word sarcasm would help*, even if you're backpedaling claim were true (and should it actually be true: you really need to work on your sarcasm.)
(* = my theory is that you used the word incorrectly in a foolish attempt to pass as a "smart person" ...you're not fooling me. :) seriously, though, no hard feelings. :P
I like the thing, but Apple has me by the wallet -- I have a ton of purchased music that I can't migrate to Zune. Now it they ever get a good video service going -- maybe directly off the Xbox 360, then I might consider taking the loss.
as far as the unboxing thing goes, i keep assuming we will actually see, i dont know, the gadget in use? i thought the whole unboxing ritual was to satisfy the feeling of anticipation and payoff... but just unboxing and not using, well that doesn't seem very satisfying to me.
i think this is a Pavlov's dogs scenario... and it seems a little embarrassing.
Thanks for trying Microsoft. You had all these years to catch up and this is the best you could do? Where is real competition to iPod?
The only thing neat about the zune is the crippled wifi(which is neither the first nor the best)
I would love to see true wifi (internet or streaming radio) on a dap- THAT would be post worthy...
Dang
Will it scratch?
which is a better color?
White,Black, or Brown?
79 MSPoints is equal to *starting calculator... please wait...* 98.75 us cents, but if you will change players only for 0.25 cent savings on each song versus iTunes, then you have problems....
Even though I'll never be able to prove it, a slight odor of impostor ship keeps bothering me every time I read comments regarding various Zune stories on Engadget. Sure, many if not most have an opinion. And it is more than probable that a dominant portion of Zune commenters are what they identify themselves as - the average techno oriented/savvy Engadget readers voicing their thoughts, observations, slightly biased opinions and in some cases passionately biased ones at that.
Never the less, pro or against the new MS offering, most of us with even the faintest amount of fair judgment surely will be able to accredit Mr. Gates company with one thing: an at times frightening drive to succeed in an area others have pioneered or made successful before them. This is all fine as well as legal in a free market society like ours. However, there has always been a Machiavellian undertone to their promotional efforts to succeed, surpass and hopefully completely annihilate their competition at all costs. And in the process stooping far below the moral and/or legal thresh holds has generally not been beyond them as proven by well-publicized and documented lawsuits as well as documentaries.
The fact that I keep sensing a noticeable sprinkling of hired bloggers or comment posters around the internet gives me a feeling that the greeting Welcome to the Social is referring to a very skilled society of Zunesters that has already pre-planted in the blogoshpere drumming up a well deserved buzz to the nth degree with everything from seemingly objective comparison observations to MySpace/teen type of blurts appealing to the cool/hip side of the potential consumer base.
I do like competition as the consumer often benefits from it in terms of more for less. Also, I do not want to claim that Apple and others are immune to shady tactics at times as well. But I do have an issue with ANY company that directly or indirectly through hired promotional agencies pretend to be one of us, the consumers trying to start a ground swell a la Lets hang em plants shouting in the crowds.
haha... iPod has grown old and weary kids.
Zune is not old. Zune might actually be.... cool!
Wowzers.
And dude who made the comment that MS stole the "bumper sticker idea" from apple too, you got to be kidding me. Did you know the 360 came with a bumper sticker also.
and quite a few other inovative pieces of technology in the past decade. get over your lame little bumper sticker with that stupid grey fruit on the front.
Jeremy,
Apple started shipping bumper stickers in the late 80's. You're dumb.
I'm very like,How ot buy it?
"very unmicrosoft"
yeah, the pain comes when you try to get the software to work.. now you got no help. Sounds like MS after all..
The brown color is just lame.
http://www.engadget.com/2006/11/13/installing-the-zune-sucked/
Hmm...
Here is what will make me buy Zune (4.0 may be):
1. 4" VGA display
2. 80 GB HD
3. Phone with Bluetooth
4. Full PDA - I will settle for Windows Mobile 5.0 (Pocket PC)
5. No bigger tha the current size
Tall Order? Thought so...
At the size of that screen, your eye cannot distinguish from 65K color (16-bit) or 16.7M color (24-bit).
Also, you do know that the Zune doesn't have a click wheel? It's still your standard 4-way joypad + center button. It just LOOKS like a click wheel.
""Darrien Woomer @ Nov 13th 2006 6:13PM
You know most of you guys would not be flaming the zune if it was not made by Microsoft. If apple made the same product with the same shape, same design, same color, same wifi and put ipod on it you would be loving it. I cant stand apple fanboy sometime.""
wow. took the words right out of my mouth
Can you import your own music/cds on to the Zune?
The packaging is missing one vital piece of information:
"Designed by Microsoft in Redmond"
;)
If it looks like a turd (Zune in Brown)...
The packaging is kind of cool, but when you look inside...it's like a product from 5 years ago. The industrial design looks very, um, primitive.
More to the point, the Zune is the same price as an iPod, is heavier than an iPod, has the same screen resolution as an iPod (on a bigger screen), is bigger than iPod, and locks you into *another* proprietary music file format. What's to like?
The music industry is *killing* itself by allowing the tech companies to use artistic content as ammo. Yet another incompatible product designed to trap users. Enough already!
Ha ha ha!
Even Microsoft can't design a cardboard box properly!! :)
HOLY ...
this is an iPod clone
A pouch, similar usb, and the set up guide - - iPod comes with it
Wow you changed the color of the guide and pouch to black, rather than Apple's white it doesn't make it anymore correct
Wow MS be creative
stop trying to ruin apple
Is this like computer geek porn?
He's either a one handed IT bod or he was cracking one off.
Admittedly there was a party in my pants when I saw that orange parcel stuffing.... ouuughh, play it again.
Zune = Crap
Hence the availability of the Zune color brown.
iPod killer? People...please.
Zune users- wait till you see the Microsoft "music" store. Weak. Weak. Weak. Not even CLOSE to what iTunes was when it first started. Courtesy flush anyone?
I guess it is easy to use. u only need 1 hand to open it.
hahaha, i did the same thing with the strip. hey, mine didn't come with a sticker, or did it????
Does the brown Zune smell like crap when you take it out of the box?
Идите в жопу ПИДАРАСЫ буржуйские!!!!
look at this guy unpacking the zune with one fucking hand, oh and the packaging is fine, hes fumbling around with a camera in his other hand and his brain up his ass ripping the black holder ribbon. This video made me want to punch someone.